Council Member Palmisano's Remarks on Police Reform

From July 21, 2017 City Council Meeting

It has been 130 hours since Justine Damond — one of my constituents, and a beloved member of our community — died from a bullet shot by one of our city employees, a Minneapolis police officer. I want to take a moment to reflect on this and to add to the public conversation some of the things I have been hearing from my constituents in the 13th ward.

A few short weeks ago, I stood in the backyard of a constituent. I took a series of questions from those gathered. In the midst of the Yanez trial, one of my constituents asked, “what can you do to make sure an incident like the Philando Castile police shooting doesn’t happen in Minneapolis?”

My response was that Philando very well could have been killed Minneapolis. I also said that, simply put, I couldn’t promise that it could never happen in our city. A few weeks later it did happen. Just a few short blocks from where we stood that day.

Yesterday our police chief said, based on what we know, that Justine Damond should not have died. So essentially, with a few obligatory asterisks, a few caveats, we have all but admitted that even with what little info the BCA has provided one of our police officers wrongfully killed one of my constituents.

Also yesterday, my neighbors held a vigil and march to honor Justine. In attendance was Valerie Castile, the mother of Philando Castile. It was clearly acknowledged last night by everyone in attendance that Justine’s death was not an isolated event. It was beautiful to see our whole city standing up together in solidarity. This is who we are.

It was another of a string of incidents that have happened in the last few years in our city, in our Twin Cities region and around the nation. We should also acknowledge that these incidents — these days euphemistically called “officer involved shootings” — didn’t just start three or four years ago. This has been happening in our city since our founding.

My constituents are not treating this as a single isolated incident. Justine’s family and all of her neighbors clearly understand how all these events are related.

And so we mourn. We release statements. We have press conferences. We give interviews. We post emotional statements on social media.

But it is not enough.

Rallies and vigils and marches — while helpful — are not enough.

Saying we are communicating, when really have very little to actually say, is not enough.

Heartfelt prayers and statements of support — they are important. I know directly that Justine’s fiance and family feel that. But we all know that this is not enough.

Body cameras are not enough.

None of this will turn back the clock and bring back Justine. Or Philando Castille. Or Jamar Clark.

So where do we go from here?

We need to fundamentally change the way police operate in our city. If this means a change in police leadership or change in management structure, then so be it, because we have a systemic problem. We are not setting up officers, that come into this line of work with the best of intentions for success.

We need to completely rethink the way police are trained in the use of force. Their use of force too often is a disportionate response to the actual danger they face.

Our police have an incredibly difficult job to do but everyone must feel safe reaching out for help and calling 911. People should not fear for their own safety when they call to ask for help for a neighbor in need. People calling the police should not fear for the safety of their family or their pets or fear that they may get deported if they ask for help. Our entire public safety system is dependent on this. And right now, I am hearing from too many people that this trust in our system is not there.

This must change.

I am done with damage control and crisis management.

Day by day I am moving beyond sadness. I am angry. My constituents are angry. Now is time to turn this emotion into action.

I will be pushing for fundamental changes in our police department, from top to bottom, and I ask you, as my colleagues, for you to join me in this effort.

If the current state laws can’t get guilty verdicts when police kill our citizens, we need new laws.

When police are using their guns in a destructive manner, we must rethink our use of force policies.

Yes. We must revamp our body camera policies and technology. Not just so we have recordings of these incidents, but so the cameras themselves act as a deterrent and can build trust in our community.

We must seriously consider whether we need a change in leadership of our police department.

So, in the future, when someone asks you (or me), as they did a few short weeks ago, if this will ever happen again. I want to be able to say that we are doing everything we can to prevent it. And anything less is unacceptable.

QUICK LINKS

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Salary Compliance Notice:State statute 471.701; Notice of Salary Compliance, requires that the City post for not less than 90 days the job title of the three highest paid employees along with their base salary. For 2018 these were:1. City Attorney, $186,4902. Assistant City Coordinator Convention Center, $183,6003. Director Public Works, $181,191